unexplained alternator belt phenomenen

Soc Braintrust,
Recently a new alternator stand was installed on my Speedster,and the belt adjusted with 1/2" of play. This was not a new belt,but was in perfect condition. I drove the car for several hours and checked the adjustment. It was so tight with no adjustment that it has caused concern. I allowed the engine to cool down, and checked the adjustment again, figuring that I would allow for expantion and contraction of the metal pulley's. Only made a very slight difference in the belt tightness. Any ideas what could have caused this. Is a simple readjustment in order,or is this a symtom of an underlying issue?

Allan.....Check the crank pulley for accumulated foreign matter.....Once sucked a rag into a Continental engine pulley...Lost the water pump as well as the belt....

Just a thought....

Because the belt is adjusted with the "washers" and not drawn by rotating as in most cars, the belt may have been pinched too tightly in the pulley when tightened. It's quite common to have to readjust the belt when first installed. BUT, I'd check the tightness of the strap that holds the alternator to the stand and also be sure that the shroud is firmly seated on the other cooling tin. After readjusting the belt this time, start the car and after only a minute, shut down the engine and re-check the belt.

Enjoy!!

Follow John's advice and you should be OK, especially the parts about making sure the shroud is seated and tightened down and the alternator strap is tight (but I bet Ben checked that, too).

I agree about the belt pinching - When adjusting a belt I usually hand-crank the engine a few complete turns or just run it for a minute or less to seat the belt and then re-check/re-adjust.

Sounds like you may need one, single washer added between the pulley halves (there should be extras between the pulley and the hub nut), but it's so close now that that may make it a skosh loose - you won't know til you mess with it, but it's an easy, common adjustment.

gn

Al, If you can't locate the problem, you can add a couple of pulley washers to loosen the belt tension to be able to get it over to Karl and have him look at it. ~Alan

If it's happening on Ruby it could be Jim having fun with you...

Went for a run after getting everything together. Re-checked the belt and alt strap. Wouldn't hurt to recheck the strap though.